When clients say “We need a website,” the project manager inside your brain usually hears: “We need a plan… and we need it yesterday.” This fill-in-the-blanks website brief template is built to gather the right design, hosting, and SEO inputs before anyone starts quoting, building, or pulling cables in the dark.
How to use it: Copy the template below into a document (Google Docs/Word), fill in the blanks, and send it to your web design/hosting/SEO partner. The clearer the brief, the fewer surprises later.
1) Project goals and target audience
Tell us what this website should accomplish, and for whom.
- Primary goal: ____ (examples: generate leads, sell products, request quotes, bookings, brand credibility)
- Target audience: ____ (industry, role, location-whatever is true for your business)
- Primary call-to-action (CTA): ____ (contact form, “request a quote,” phone call, demo booking, purchase, etc.)
- Top 3 problems your audience has that your site should solve:
- ____
- ____
- ____
- Competitors (optional but helpful): ____
2) Pages, features, and content requirements
List what pages you need and what each page must do. If you’re unsure, it’s okay-write what you know and mark the rest as “TBD.”
| Page | Purpose / goal | Must-have content | Features (if any) | Owner for content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ |
| Services / Solutions | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ |
| About | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ |
| References / Portfolio | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ |
| Contact / Quote request | ____ | ____ | Forms, CAPTCHA, routing rules | ____ |
| Blog (optional) | ____ | Initial topics: ____ | Categories, newsletter signup | ____ |
Content readiness:
- Text: existing / partial / not started
- Images & media: existing / needs sourcing / not started
- Brand assets: logo files, brand colors, fonts, brand guidelines (if any)
For service page direction, see web design services.
3) Hosting, domain, email, and support needs
This is where projects accidentally grow claws. Hosting + domain decisions affect performance, email deliverability, and launch timelines.
- Domain ownership status: already owned / need to purchase / unclear
- Current provider (if any): ____
- Hosting needs: (shared / VPS / managed WordPress) preferred or “TBD”
- SSL: required (yes/no) and whether already installed
- Email: how many addresses? (examples: info@, sales@, support@)
- Webmail/webmail access: needed by staff? (yes/no)
- Backups & updates: who is responsible after launch?
- Support & response time: ____ (best-effort, business hours, SLA expectations)
If you want a clear checklist of what to consider, use hosting & domain info as your baseline.
4) SEO and advertising goals to include in the brief
SEO isn’t just “add keywords.” It’s planning your site structure so search engines and humans both understand what you do.
- Target locations (if relevant): ____
- Primary search topics: ____ (services/products you want to rank for)
- Language(s): English / other
- Existing SEO assets (if any): Search Console, analytics access, past content, keyword list
- Measurement plan: how will success be tracked? (leads, calls, form submits, ranking targets)
- On-page priorities: internal linking approach, headings structure, CTA placement
- Technical priorities: speed/performance targets, crawl/indexing rules
If advertising is part of the plan, align the brief with your online advertising goals so landing pages and tracking don’t get invented later.
External reading to keep everyone sane (and on the same definitions):
Google Search Central: submit a sitemap,
Google Search Central: robots.txt,
MDN: HTML basics,
and ICANN accredited registrars.
5) A short checklist for sending the brief to an agency
Before you hit send, do this quick sweep:
- Goals + CTA are written in plain language.
- Pages/features are listed (and “TBD” is explicitly marked).
- Content owner(s) are named (who supplies text/images).
- Domain/hosting/email responsibilities are clarified.
- SEO success measures are included (even if you’re not sure yet).
- References/competitors are attached (optional but helpful).
- Timeline expectations are included: desired launch month + must-have dates.
Try-this-once: Fill in just sections 1-3 and send it first. You can iterate SEO/ads details once the page list and hosting/email scope are locked.
Want a tiny mental shortcut? Think of the brief as three maps: what you’re building (pages/features), where it lives (hosting/domain/email), and how people find it (SEO/ads measurement). If those maps exist up front, the quote is easier and the build stays on rails.